All week long, we've been posting lists of Seattle events to keep you busy (including the best arts & culture events, quirky things to do, the best music shows to see, and cheap and easy events), but we realize there's a lot to sort through. So, if you only have time to read one list, make it this one: We've plucked the biggest events you need to know about in every genre, from Trevor Noah Past Event Like List to Google Lights Past Event Like List to the Renegade Craft Fair Past Event Like List . See them all below, and find even more things to do this weekend on our complete EverOut Things To Do calendar, including the highlights for the entire month.

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Jump to: Holiday Markets & Shopping | Santa Sightings & Family Festivals | Holiday Community Festivals | Holiday Lightings & Displays | Major Concerts | Food & Drink Events | Major Concerts | Comedy & Performances | Film | Art Events & Openings | Other Noteworthy Happenings | Sports & Recreation

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HOLIDAY MARKETS & SHOPPING

Annual Holiday Native Gift Fair & Art Market Past Event Like List
Find gifts for loved ones by local Native artists and makers at this annual market.
Friday-Sunday, Duwamish Longhouse (West Seattle)

Copper Canyon Press Showcase and Holiday Book Sale Past Event Like List
The local press will have many poetry books to buy during their annual celebration. Come for the shopping, stay for the ecological verse reading from Here: Poems for the Planet, featuring work from 125 prominent writers like Mary Oliver, Robert Hass, and Aimee Nezhukumatathil, plus a foreword by the Dalai Lama.
Friday, Hugo House (Capitol Hill)

Deck the Brew Hall: Fremont Brewing Holiday Market Past Event Like List
Browse a holiday market for locally made gifts, try holiday-infused beers on tap, and meet the "Santa Claus Yeti." Dogs and kids are welcome.
Saturday-Sunday, Fremont Brewing

Handmade Holiday Market at Second Use Past Event Like List
Purchase handmade gifts from over 35 local makers and enjoy a food truck, dessert vendors, and a beer garden to keep you fueled while you shop.
Saturday, Second Use Building Materials (Beacon Hill)

Holiday Bazaar 2019 Past Event Like List
Check out many, many artists' studios and pick out some gifts—like ceramics, jewelry, clothing, and art—for families and friends at this expansive shindig.
Sunday, Inscape (Sodo)

Pajamarama Past Event Like List
Slip into something more comfortable for a morning of cozy holiday shopping at participating stores. You'll even get a free mug (or you can bring one from home) with which to fill with hot cocoa.
Saturday, West Seattle Junction

Phestivus: Art for the Rest of Us Past Event Like List
Find handmade ornaments and other excellent artsy gifts for under $50 while you taste seasonal snacks and drinks. Plus, stop by a snowflake-making station. 
Friday, the Greenwood Art Collective

Renegade Craft Fair Past Event Like List
Shop for crafts from new and returning makers while you enjoy live DJs, food trucks, and cocktails.
Saturday-Sunday, Magnuson Park (Sand Point)

Witches' Night Out Yule Market Past Event Like List
This edition of the Witches' Night Out Market will celebrate the darkest parts of the yuletide season—bolstered by the inherent freakiness of Friday the 13th—with a local lineup of metaphysically minded artisans.
Friday, Arcadia (Ballard)

Very Open House Past Event Like List
See the work of more than 100 artists and artisans in four buildings at the mammoth Georgetown arts collective. The studios also promise "guest artists, music, poetry, dance, demos, food trucks, and a whole lot more! " Stay after for a night of revelry.
Saturday, Equinox Studios (Georgetown)

See also: 47 Holiday Markets and Gift Bazaars in Seattle This Weekend

HOLIDAY COMMUNITY FESTIVALS

Columbia City Caroling Extravaganza and Beatwalk Winter Fest! Past Event Like List
Bop around to festive tunes by the Beaconettes, the Columbia City Chorus, and other local bands at various Colombia City venues. 
Saturday, Various locations (Columbia City)

Dickens Festival at Stadium Past Event Like List
Hark back to the era of Charles Dickens, a man who knew a thing or two about Christmas ghosts, by enjoying Victorian activities like a "Best Victorian Dog" contest, caroling, a tree lighting with Santa, a horse-drawn carriage ride to Wright Park's decked-out Seymour Conservatory, and more.
Saturday, Stadium High School (Tacoma)

Danish Christmas Fest Past Event Like List
Warm up with Danish winter treats (like æbleskiver, gløgg, and Christmas cookies) and sips (like Nordic brews, ciders, and aquavit) while you shop for vintage goods from a pop-up market. 
Saturday, Seattle Danish Center (North Seattle)

Fire + Ice Festival Past Event Like List
Winter is a time for snow people and warm fires to complement each other from a distance, and the holidays wouldn't be complete without them. For its third annual Fire and Ice festival, the Museum of Glass hosts a variety of holiday-themed performances and demonstrations.
Friday-Sunday, Museum of Glass (Tacoma)

Julebord Past Event Like List
Dance around a Christmas tree, enter raffles, and feast on Nordic delights like smoked salmon, Medisterkaker with gravy, Fiskepudding with shrimp sauce, and Riskrem with strawberry sauce—not to mention lots of aquavit.
Saturday, Leif Erikson Lodge (Ballard)

Krampusnacht 2019 Past Event Like List
In old Germanic tradition, Santa Claus has a demon companion named Krampus who punishes children for wickedness (rather than, say, giving gifts and eating cookies). In honor of the wicked holiday, brave three haunted attractions, see a Krampus morality play, take pictures with the hellhound himself, and decompress in a beer garden.
Friday-Saturday, Nile Shrine Golf Center (Mountlake Terrace)

Snow Day SLU Past Event Like List
Denny Park's winter light display will provide a magical, twinkly respite from dark Seattle winter days.
Friday-Sunday, Denny Park (South Lake Union)

Snowflake Lane Past Event Like List
Every year, downtown Bellevue turns into a winter wonderland not just for one night but for a whole dang month, with (fake) falling snow, jolly live music, and a nightly parade filled with dancers and toy drummers.
Friday-Sunday, Bellevue Collection

Swanson's Reindeer Festival Past Event Like List
Shop a variety of seasonal plants, bulbs, arrangements, and Christmas trees, as well as other gifts like books, jewelry, and home decor, at the decked-out nursery. Plus, visit with Santa and his real-life reindeer, check out model trains, and enjoy live music throughout the season.
Friday-Sunday, Swansons Nursery (Crown Hill)

Tanksgiving Past Event Like List
If you prefer a smattering of vintage war vehicles with your Christmastime celebrations, you'll be glad to know that Santa visits the combat museum every year. He brings with him a hot cocoa and gingerbread house station, World of Tanks video game stations, and more. He'll also take free photos with kids and families.
Saturday, Flying Heritage & Combat Armor Museum (Everett)

Winterfest Past Event Like List
From a winter train village to an ice rink, and from music and dance performances to ice sculpting, Winterfest promises five weeks of free festive cheer for all ages. This weekend's special events include a performance from the Garfield Jazz Band (Sat), the SANCA Cirrus Circus (Sun), and Greater Seattle TubaChristmas (Sun).
Friday-Sunday, Seattle Center

See also: 29 Places to Pick Up and Cut Your Own Christmas Trees Around Seattle This Winter 2019

HOLIDAY LIGHTINGS & DISPLAYS

Candy Cane Lane Holiday Lights Festival Past Event Like List
1920s-era Tudor homes in Ravenna have been boasting impressive light displays every holiday season since 1949. Stroll along Northeast Park Road taking in Nutcracker-themed havens complete with sleighs, reindeer, sugar plum fairies, and blow-up candy canes galore.
Friday-Sunday, Candy Cane Lane (Ravenna)

Christmas at the Mansion Past Event Like List
Per holiday tradition, visitors can marvel at Puyallup's historic Meeker Mansion decked out in Victorian-style Christmas decorations (with 21st-century LED lights).
Friday-Sunday, Meeker Mansion (Puyallup)

Christmas Lighting Festival Past Event Like List
Holiday cheer abounds in Washington's own Bavarian-style village of Leavenworth, which celebrates the season with live Christmas music, visits from both St. Nickolaus and Santa Claus, sledding, and more—all culminating in glorious lighting ceremonies every Saturday and Sunday.
Friday-Sunday, Leavenworth

Christmas Ship Festival Past Event Like List
The Puget Sound is filled with lights throughout the holiday season, but no vessel can compete with Argosy Cruises' Christmas Ship, which docks in 65 waterfront communities to serenade people onshore and onboard with its resident choir. Those who choose to board the ship will enjoy photos with Santa, a reading of "'Twas the Night Before Christmas," and kids' activities. For a less family-oriented option, you can trail behind in a 21+ boat with rotating themes each week. This weekend brings the impressive Parade of Boats Past Event Like List , which is sold out on board but is free to watch from the shore Past Event Like List .
Friday-Sunday, Various locations

Clam Lights Presented by Ivar's Restaurants Past Event Like List
Every night, Ivar's powers up the park with thousands of Christmas lights depicting various clammy characters. Is this where clams go to heaven after you eat them at Ivar's?
Friday-Sunday, Gene Coulon Memorial Beach Park (Renton)

Enchant Christmas 2019 Past Event Like List
Following a successful first year, Enchant Christmas will transform T-Mobile Park into a winter wonderland complete with an impressive light maze, light sculptures, a market curated by Urban Craft Uprising, and more. This year's theme is "Mischievous," so expect to see sly little elves roaming about.
Friday-Sunday, T-Mobile Park (Sodo)

Evergreen Lights 2019 Past Event Like List
Over half a million lights will dance around to live music every night of December. Watch the show from a heated viewing area and keep extra warm with cocoa and cookies.
Friday-Sunday, Evergreen Church (Bothell)

Garden d’Lights Past Event Like List
Whimsical flora and fauna, birds, animals, and cascading waterfalls get the holiday light treatment at Bellevue Botanical Garden's annual display. (To be clear, actual birds and animals will not be strung with lights.) Wander the grounds and take photos among the "half a million" bulbs.
Friday-Sunday, Bellevue Botanical Garden

Google Lights Past Event Like List
The Google Kirkland campus will turn on their 25,000-light display for a holiday light show synchronized to music. There will also be free hot chocolate and cookies for the first 2,000 people.
Friday, Downtown Kirkland

Green Lake Pathway of Lights Past Event Like List
Every year, the Green Lake Park circuit illuminates its pathway with thousands of candles. You can walk through it, hear holiday music, and warm up with treats.
Saturday, Green Lake Park

The Lights of Christmas Festival Past Event Like List
Meet Santa, have some snacks, hear stories and music, pay a visit to Baby J at the Nativity, shop, and pet friendly animals at "the largest holiday festival in the Northwest."
Friday-Sunday, Warm Beach Camp & Conference Center (Stanwood)

Light Plantasia Past Event Like List
Colorful lights will flood the conservatory with some slightly trippy holiday cheer this season, illuminating its well-kept flora and fauna.
Friday-Sunday, Seymour Conservatory (Tacoma) 

Lumaze Past Event Like List
This year, Santa is enlisting the help of young princes and princesses in helping him find six hidden presents. In addition to the prize-bearing hunt, this kid-oriented indoor festival will also have a gift market (complete with fresh produce and seasonal treats) and a light display.
Friday-Sunday, Smith Cove Cruise Terminal (Interbay)

Maple Leaf Lights Past Event Like List
Take some time to appreciate the lengths to which people have gone to illuminate their houses with impressive Christmas light displays.
Friday-Sunday, Maple Leaf Lights

Sheraton Grand Seattle Gingerbread Village Past Event Like List
For the 27th year in a row, diabetes research center JDRF Northwest has invited local architecture firms to use their skills for a holiday tradition: crafting an elaborate gingerbread village that uses 1,850 pounds of gingerbread, 150,000 pieces of candy, 350 pounds of fondant, and 15 gallons of egg whites, according to press materials. This year's theme is #ElfLife, featuring pixies, gnomes, and pucks from across genres.
Friday-Saturday, Sheraton Hotel (Downtown)

WildLights Past Event Like List
The zoo will light up with thousands upon thousands of (energy-efficient) LED lights that recreate wild scenes and creatures. You can also throw fake snowballs at your friends, get up close with certain animal residents, and sip hot chocolate.
Friday-Sunday, Woodland Park Zoo (Phinney)

Zoolights Past Event Like List
Holiday traditions don't get more classic than strolling through the zoo when it's transformed into a luminous wonderland of 3-D animal light installations. Displays from previous years have included hammerhead sharks and sea turtles, a majestic polar bear family, and a giant Pacific octopus.
Friday-Sunday, Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium (Tacoma)

See also: The 55 Best Places to See Holiday Lights in Seattle in 2019

SANTA SIGHTINGS

Holiday Dog Party with Santa Past Event Like List
Enjoy tasty brews and photos with Santa at this kid- and dog-friendly event.
Sunday, Peddler Brewing Company (Ballard)

Holidays at the Needle Past Event Like List
Santa will park his sleek new glass sleigh on the Space Needle's revolving glass floor, so your photos with the jolly man will feature the Seattle cityscape beneath your feet.
Saturday-Sunday, Space Needle (Seattle Center)

Santa is Coming to the Tap Room Past Event Like List
Families (pets included) can take pictures with Old Saint Nick at the taproom.
Saturday, Lagunitas Tap Room (Ballard)

Santa's Fly In Past Event Like List
Mr. and Mrs. Santa Claus will fly into Tukwila to take note of last-minute holiday wishes from kiddos. Caspar Babypants, the Boeing Orchestra, and the Boeing Employee Concert Band will provide live fanfare.
Saturday, Museum of Flight (Tukwila)

See also: 63 Places to See (And Drink With) Santa Claus in Seattle in 2019

FOOD & DRINK EVENTS

Annual SODO Holiday Tasting Past Event Like List
Join the Grinch, Santa, Victorian carolers, and a festive mariachi band at this wine tasting.
Saturday, Sodo Urban Works

Fremont Ugly Sweater Bar Party Past Event Like List
Pull on your ugliest sweater (or zip/button up your ugliest sweater if you plan on rocking one of those split-snowman motifs) and run around with your fellow Fremont freaks to neighborhood bars for holiday merriment and drink specials.
Saturday, Various locations (Fremont)

Historic Downtown Snoqualmie Holiday Cookie Crawl Past Event Like List
Tug on a sweater and amble around downtown Snoqualmie collecting free cookies from local businesses and getting some holiday shopping done. Photo ops with Santa will also be available.
Saturday, Downtown Snoqualmie

Miracle on 2nd Past Event Like List
In 2014, New York bar owner Greg Boehm temporarily transformed his space into a kitschy Christmas wonderland replete with gewgaws and tchotchkes galore. Now the pop-up has expanded to more than 100 locations all over the world and will be returning to Belltown’s Rob Roy this year. The specialty cocktails are no ordinary cups of cheer: Beverages are housed in tacky-tastic vessels (a drinking mug resembling Santa’s mug, for example), bedecked with fanciful garnishes like peppers and dried pineapple, and christened with irreverent, pop-culture-referencing names like the “Bad Santa,” the “Yippie Ki Yay Mother F**r,” and the “You’ll Shoot Your Rye Out.” New this year: At nearby Vinnie's Raw Bar, there will be a spin-off holiday-tiki-themed pop-up called "Sippin' Santa Past Event Like List ," which asks you to "imagine Santa on a surfboard instead of a sleigh and palm trees instead of pine." Drinks include the "Kris Kringle Colada" (dark Jamaican rum, Cynar, allspice, lime and pineapple juice, and cream of coconut) and the "Christmas Eve of Destruction" (dark overproof rum, herbal liqueur, nutmeg syrup, lime juice, and Angostura bitters). JULIANNE BELL
Friday-Sunday, Rob Roy (Belltown)

Seattle SantaCon 2019 Past Event Like List
Regardless of how you feel personally about SantaCon—the annual bar crawl that encourages adults to dress as the jolly mascot of Christmas and jingle their bells to various downtown watering holes—it will likely outlive us all. If you're participating, don't forget to hydrate with plenty of water and/or milk.
Saturday, Various locations (Downtown)

See also: Seattle Food & Drink Specials to Try in December 2019 and 35 Places to Try Eggnog, Mulled Wine, Hot Toddies, and Other Winter Warmers in Seattle December 2019 and A Hygge Scandinavian Cafe and More Seattle Food News You Can Use

MAJOR CONCERTS

The Dream Syndicate, Eyelids Past Event Like List
One of the most important groups of the so-called Paisley Underground, the Dream Syndicate burst out of the gate with a classic, Velvet Underground–indebted LP, The Days of Wine and Roses (1982), and a robust follow-up, Medicine Show (1984). Guitarist/vocalist Steve Wynn and company released two more albums that decade and then laid low for almost 30 years, returning in 2017 with a strong comeback record, How Did I Find Myself Here? and this year’s These Times. They may not be freaking out as noisily on these recordings as they did in the 1980s, but the Dream Syndicate remain compelling songwriters who rock smartly. If their 2014 Bumbershoot appearance is any indication, they can still scorch live, too. DAVE SEGAL
Saturday, Tractor Tavern (Ballard)

Ganja White Night, Boogie T, Jantsen, SubDocta Past Event Like List
Often seen on the lineups of giant EDM fests like Lucky and Deadbeats, Belgian bass duo Ganja White Night will perform tracks with their unique "Wobble" sound.
Friday, Showbox Sodo

Live From Our Living Room ft. Waxahatchee, Owen, & Blushh Past Event Like List
Waxahatchee is the project of Alabama singer-songwriter Katie Crutchfield, whose indie-rock style has a vaguely Liz Phair Exile in Guyville feel, while her lo-fi experimental-folk leanings are entirely of her own appeal. She and her band (which includes twin sister Allison on keys and percussion) are leaning harder into the former on their second Merge release and fourth overall, Out in the Storm, which has a more full-bodied sound than past efforts and added gritty-melodic 1990s guitar textures, and was produced by John Agnello (Dinosaur Jr., Sonic Youth). LEILANI POLK
Saturday, Vera Project (Seattle Center)

Sir Mix-A-Lot Past Event Like List
Hip-hop legend Sir Mix-A-Lot returns to Tacoma with a live show, where the MC and "Baby Got Back" performer will dish out the hits for two nights.
Friday, Jazzbones (Tacoma)

X (Nights 1 & 2) Past Event Like List
They were contemporaries of SoCal punk bands like the Germs and Black Flag, but X’s relevance and influence can still be heard draped across the sounds of the rock underground. I reckon you could say, even as their music is deeply rooted in, well, roots rock, at this point they MIGHT be considered roots rock themselves. And don’t forget they were/are universally loved by the nerdy college kids, punks, AND the goths. I bet it’s safe to say 1970s Exene is prolly still an archetype. Uh, now that I think about it, a two-day party might not be enough. MIKE NIPPER
Sunday, Crocodile (Belltown)

See also: The 39 Best Music Shows in Seattle This Week

COMEDY & PERFORMANCES

A(n Improvised) Christmas Carol 2019 Past Event Like List
You may think you know the story of A Christmas Carol, but you have no idea. Watch a team of improvisers re-create Dickens's tale based on audience suggestions.
Friday-Sunday, Unexpected Productions' Market Theater (Downtown)

Buttcracker V...the Last Thrust! Past Event Like List
This festive and raunchy holiday show promises glittery professional dance and holiday satire set to a hair-metal soundtrack...for the very last time.
Friday-Sunday, Erickson Theatre Off Broadway (Capitol Hill)

A Christmas Carol Past Event Like List
ACT Theatre's production of A Christmas Carol is a dependable, simple pleasure, with just enough variation to warrant returning year after year. Kelly Kitchens will direct.
Friday-Sunday, ACT Theatre (Downtown)

The Christmas Killings at Corgi Cliffs Past Event Like List
Butch Alice once again stars as Becky June Beasley-Jones in Scot Rigsby Augustson's drag-filled send-up of Agatha Christie-type whodunits, directed by Jasmine Joshua (artistic director of Reboot Theatre Company). 
Friday-Sunday, Cafe Nordo (Pioneer Square)

Christmastown Past Event Like List
If your holiday season lacks slinky dames, growling gumshoes, and hard-boiled bosses, try Seattle playwright Wayne Rawley's Christmas noir, back onstage once again.
Friday-Sunday, Seattle Public Theater (Green Lake)

Crossdresser for Christ-mas Past Event Like List
Few queens belt a Broadway hit like Ginger Minj. I once saw the RuPaul’s Drag Race star perform her Crossdresser for Christ cabaret show to a sold-out crowd of bears (the gay kind), and her brassy singing brought the crowd to tears. By the end of it, I was drunk and singing along in the balcony. I’m pretty sure it will go down as the gayest night of theater in my life. Now that she’s bringing a version of that show-tunes-filled original show to Queer Bar, maybe I can have the queerest night of theater in my life. CHASE BURNS
Friday, Queer Bar (Capitol Hill)

Cucchella Past Event Like List
Continuing to push the form forward, debauched Seattle drag entertainer Cucci Binaca is answering every queer prayer we didn’t even know we had by hosting three parties over a 13-hour span. Big Sagittarius Energy. At Cucchella—the first-ever performance arts festival within the Kremwerk/Timbre Room complex—there is sure to be fake blood, drag entertainers lip syncing to YouTube clip remixes of Christina Aguilera songs, and a fuck ton of excellent mixes and dancing. Come for the 15 different entertainers performing at Critter Barn, stay for the lip syncs at QiQi Cabaret: Cucchella Edition, and beautifully unravel to the late night and sunrise DJ and drag sets of SLIP. JASMYNE KEIMIG
Saturday-Sunday, Timbre Room (Downtown)

The Dina Martina Christmas Show Past Event Like List
Watching Seattle drag legend Dina Martina perform is a bit like having a Christmastime flu. You will sit there, confused and warm, your thoughts disassociating, a fever addling your brain, while the holiday cheer twinkles all around you. Truly there’s no performer who is more like a strong dose of Nyquil than Dina Martina. She is cozy but disorienting. You will laugh without knowing why. Take her with alcohol and double the danger. CHASE BURNS
Friday-Sunday, ACT Theatre (Downtown)

Donald Byrd's 'The Harlem Nutcracker' Past Event Like List
Acclaimed local choreographer Donald Byrd developed this adaptation of the cherished Christmas ballet for black American culture. This will be the performance of "phase one," which will include Act 1, "Party Scene" and Act 2, "Club Sweets."
Friday-Sunday, On the Boards (Queen Anne)

George Balanchine's 'The Nutcracker' Past Event Like List
If you haven't seen this Christmas classic since you were a kid, give it a go this year. In 2014, Pacific Northwest Ballet replaced its beloved Maurice Sendak set with one by Ian Falconer, who did the Olivia the Pig books, and I'm glad that they did. The new set is gorgeous in a Wes Anderson-like way, and it reflects the genuine weirdness and beauty in the story. I mean, the last 45 minutes of this thing is a Katy Perry video starring dancing desserts and a glittery peacock that moves like a sexy broken river. Bring a pot lozenge. RICH SMITH
Friday-Sunday, McCaw Hall (Seattle Center)

The Hard Nut Past Event Like List
I count myself among the Christmastime grinches, but I'm also here to sing the praises of one Nutcracker production that I think is always, without a doubt, forever worth your time and money: Mark Morris Dance Group's The Hard Nut, a gender-bending contemporary classic from the funny and inventive Seattle-born choreographer Mark Morris. If you, like me, find the typical holiday fare to be too sweet, please heed this recommendation and go see Morris's take on The Nutcracker. It has the power to soften even the hardest and most cynical nuts among us. It's faithful to the original production of The Hard Nut. Recently, I rented a DVD copy of The Hard Nut from Scarecrow Video because I liked the graphic design on the DVD case. It was done by Charles Burns (which I misread as Chase Burns—we're not related), a cartoonist with deep ties to Seattle, and specifically Sub Pop and Fantagraphics. The ballet's production design is based on the work of Charles Burns, which gives the show an overall dark, edgy, dare-I-say alt-weekly vibe. CHASE BURNS
Friday-Sunday, Paramount Theatre (Downtown)

Heather McMahan: The Farewell Tour Past Event Like List
Heather K. McMahan, whose persona is a combination of basic bitch and self-proclaimed "high-functioning hot mess," will embark on her first ("and possibly last") tour.
Sunday, Neptune Theatre (University District)

Hershey Felder: Beethoven Past Event Like List
Former Stranger writer Sean Nelson described Felder as an "astonishingly gifted vocalist and pianist, not merely in terms of pure technique, but in his capacity for restraint." In this show, he takes on the roles of both Ludwig van Beethoven and his student Gerhard von Breuning while playing such beloved pieces as Moonlight Sonata and Pathetique Sonata, as well as excerpts from the famed Fifth and Ninth Symphonies.
Friday-Sunday, Seattle Repertory Theatre (Seattle Center)

Jingle All the Gay! Past Event Like List
The new performers are the standouts in Jingle All the Gay! Kitten N' Lou brought in Markeith Wiley and Randy Ford, two breakout dancers/performance artists who have been having a great couple of years performing around Seattle. Wiley plays the mailman, an important figure in any holiday story, and he's got to deliver lots of big, uh, packages. Ford plays Lil' Fruitcake, a femme voguing fruitcake who fucks shit up in the best way possible. Ford and Wiley's duets are highlights, as are the numbers from Seattle drag artist Abbey Roads, who brings solid musical theater chops and good comic timing. Also in this cast: New York City's Mr. Gorgeous, serving his uniquely tall and hilarious boylesque as the Little Drummer Boy. These favorites return, along with the UK's Reuben Kaye, plus Lola van Ella from New Orleans. CHASE BURNS
Friday-Sunday, Odd Fellows West Hall (Capitol Hill)

Jomama Jones Black Light Past Event Like List
This show by UW Creative Research Fellow Daniel Alexander Jones, aka Jomama Jones, takes you through black freedom struggles and explorations of Afromysticism through "the musical influences of Prince, Sade, Diana Ross and Tina Turner."
Friday-Saturday, Meany Center for the Performing Arts (University District)

The Judy Garland Christmas Special Past Event Like List
Crabgrass Productions portrays the dress rehearsal of Judy Garland's deeply uncomfortable 1963 Christmas television special, with Judy overwhelmed by terrifying alcohol-induced hallucinations and wreaking havoc on sugary Christmas tunes. Troy Mink plays Judy in this mean but reportedly very funny Christmas trainwreck.
Friday-Sunday, Theatre Off Jackson (Chinatown-International District)

Land of the Sweets: The Burlesque Nutcracker Past Event Like List
Land of the Sweets: The Burlesque Nutcracker is a lascivious holiday show experience with sugar plum fairies, exciting clothes-dropping times, and more swanky fun.
Friday-Sunday, Triple Door (Downtown)

Live Wire! with Luke Burbank Past Event Like List
Luke Burbank's Live Wire is an NPR-type variety program based in Portland, Oregon, featuring artists, writers, filmmakers, and musicians in conversation. This edition will feature comedian and screwy advice columnist John Hodgman and respected journalist and author Jon Mooallem.
Saturday, Neptune Theatre (University District)

Mrs. Doubtfire Past Event Like List
This is the world premiere of the musical Mrs. Doubtfire, a stage adaptation of the 1993 Robin Williams film. After its run in Seattle, it goes straight to Broadway. Mrs. Doubtfire is directed by Jerry Zaks, a Broadway legend who won a Tony Award for directing the revival of Guys and Dolls in 1992, and was nominated again for his revival of Hello, Dolly! with Bette Midler in 2017. CHRISTOPHER FRIZZELLE
Friday-Sunday, the 5th Avenue Theatre (Downtown)

Next Fest NW 2019 Past Event Like List
Velocity's annual Next Fest NW spotlights exciting new choreographers coming up in the Seattle dance scene. Lucie Baker, Shane Donohue, Marco Farroni, Vladimir Kremenović, and Hannah Rae will present pieces that play to this year's theme—"Ritual and Rebellion"—covering subjects such as "brutalist architecture, corporate sponsorship, queer coming of age, and Slavic mythology." Last year, Donohue put on a transcendently good display of weird-ass bravado during his solo performance in Kim Lusk's fabulous A Dance for Dark Horses, so I'm hoping he brings a similar energy to THIS SPACE FOR RENT, which sounds like a welcome send-up of the unholy alliance between capitalism and the arts. According to a preview in Broadway World, Farroni's (papi) will draw from the dancer's personal experiences, revealing "performance practice as a method to understand displacement, adaptation, love, memory, and trauma." Baker's Singing Over the Bones, inspired by "figures from Eastern European folklore alleged to be the restless spirits of women who have died unjust or untimely deaths," sounds eminently unmissable, too. RICH SMITH
Friday-Sunday, Velocity Dance Center (Capitol Hill)

Scott Shoemaker's War on Christmas Past Event Like List
Scott Shoemaker (Ms. Pak-Man) and illustrious friends like Mandy Price, Waxie Moon, Adé Conneré, and Faggedy Randy will lead a fearless investigation into the War on Christmas. Their weapons: "ALL NEW hilarious comedy, songs, dance numbers, amazing videos and partial nudity!"
Friday-Sunday, Re-bar (Downtown)

Shout, Sister, Shout! Past Event Like List
A black queer woman named Rosetta Tharpe invented rock and roll as we know it today. Exuberant and stomping with an electric guitar in hand, her picking and singing influenced the likes of Chuck Berry, Elvis Presley, Little Richard, and the list goes on. Born the daughter of two cotton pickers in Cotton Plant, Arkansas, Tharpe rose up through gospel, and became internationally known for fusing rural and urban styles of music in certified bangers such as "Down by the Riverside" and "This Train." Playwright Cheryl L. West offers this dramatic treatment of Gayle F. Wald’s biography of the "Godmother of Rock and Roll" in a show that's drawn near universal praise from critics. Get pumped to watch this musical portrait of a legend. RICH SMITH
Friday-Sunday, Seattle Repertory Theatre (Seattle Center)

Sugar Plum Gary Past Event Like List
A misanthropic disposition combined with a strong satanist worldview distinguishes Sugar Plum Gary from other yuletide figures. Every year around this time, "somewhat beloved storyteller and comedian Emmett Montgomery" slips into a red onesie and takes the stage to give audience members completely unsolicited advice on how to best navigate the season, and it's often pretty funny if you're into dark, absurd humor. What's his favorite holiday decorating tip? In an interview with Brett Hamil in City Arts, Sugar Plum Gary gives his answer: I like to "find a dark place and put myself in a corner and wait," he says, with a creepy uncle grin. Merry Christmas. RICH SMITH
Friday-Saturday, 18th & Union (Capitol Hill)

Trevor Noah: Loud and Clear Past Event Like List
Blessing: South African comedian Trevor Noah has control of the bully pulpit of Comedy Central's The Daily Show. Curse: He had to follow Jon Stewart in that slot. It's hard not to seem a tad second-rate replacing a vastly influential and beloved political-satire legend, but Noah's gamely making a go of it. He leverages his outsider status in America—how many other South African comics do you know?—to offer fresh slants on myriad social and political topics. DAVE SEGAL
Friday, Tacoma Dome

A Very Die Hard Christmas Past Event Like List
Marxiano Productions will restage last year's hit holiday musical from a script by the top-notch sketch comedy outfit the Habit (plus Jeff Schell), which peppers the rip-roaring action with songs, jokes, and more.
Friday-Sunday, Seattle Public Theater (Green Lake)

Wonderland Past Event Like List
Wonderland is divided into three short acts that make up a brisk 90-minute show. Hosted by the exceedingly charismatic JonnyBoy (Jonathan Betchtel), each act gets progressively naughtier, although the most scandalous thing an audience member sees is a jock-strapped ass and bare tits covered by pasties. The show has danger, but it's found in the cancan lines that occur mere feet from audience members' dinner salads. During the third act, two dancers perform an athletic duet that—when I saw it—nearly knocked over a birthday girl's wine glass. But it didn't. Everyone whooped. CHASE BURNS
Friday-Sunday, Can Can (Downtown)

See also: 60 Festive Performances to Check Out During the 2019 Seattle Holiday Season

FILM

'Black Christmas' Opening
Trailers for the remake of this 1974 slasher tease a feminist twist as sorority girls get sick of their sisters being stalked and murdered on campus.
Friday-Sunday, Various locations

Holiday Film Series 2019
Enjoy naughty and nice holiday-themed movies from Bad Santa (Sat) to White Christmas (Sun).
Saturday-Sunday, Cinerama (Downtown)

'Jumanji: The Next Level' Opening
As the gang return to Jumanji to rescue one of their own, they discover that nothing is as they expect. Bethany, Fridge, Martha, Spencer's grandfather Eddie and his friend Milo will have to brave parts unknown and unexplored, from the arid deserts to the snowy mountains, in order to escape the world's most dangerous game.
Friday-Sunday, Various locations

'Richard Jewell' Opening
Clint Eastwood directs this based-on-a-true-story movie about an amateur security officer who, despite his heroic actions saving lives at the Olympics, is accused of terrorism. It's being called "a decent portrait of an injustice" (Gary M. Kramer, Salon.com) and "the most Clint Eastwood-y Clint Eastwood movie imaginable" (Bill Goodykoontz, the Arizona Republic), but has been marred by its false portrayal of a real-life journalist, Kathy Scruggs, as a devious and sexually manipulative woman, notably showing her offering to trade sex for a news tip. Scruggs is dead and can't defend herself. Not cool. JOULE ZELMAN
Friday-Sunday, Various locations

See also: 39 Movies Worth Watching in Seattle This Weekend and Where to Watch the 2020 Golden Globe Nominees in Seattle

ART EVENTS & OPENINGS

Aaron Fowler: 2019 Knight | Lawrence Prize Winner
Every other year the Knight | Lawrence Prize is awarded to an early-career Black artist. And in 2019, the prize went to Harlem, Los Angeles, and St. Louis-based Aaron Fowler, who creates elaborate assemblages made of discarded found objects and other unconventional materials. The results are pieces falling somewhere between painting and sculpture, grander and larger-than-life that quite literally comes off the wall into the gallery. Looking to the compositional form of American history painting and religious iconography, his mixed-media work addresses issues such as American history, hip-hop, incarceration, and family. JASMYNE KEIMIG
Friday-Sunday, Seattle Art Museum (Downtown)

ClayFest Northwest Past Event Like List
Celebrate clay art "from teapots to abstract sculpture" at this celebration featuring work—which you can buy!—by more than 40 Pacific Northwest artists.
Friday-Sunday, Pottery Northwest (Seattle Center)

Exceptionally Ordinary: Mingei 1920-2020 Past Event Like List
Unfussy treasures of the Mingei movement, which was launched by the Japanese collector Yanagi Soetsu in the 1920s and fostered an appreciation for simplicity and utility, include folk art-influenced ceramics, textiles, sculptures, and prints from Japan, Korea, and the US.
Saturday-Sunday, Seattle Art Museum (Downtown)

See also: The Best Art Shows in Seattle: Winter 2019/2020

OTHER NOTEWORTHY HAPPENINGS

Northwest Thrift-Con Winter Edition Past Event Like List
This past summer, Stranger contributor Jordan Michelman wrote, "We came, we saw, we thrifted. The scene was beyond wild at Tacoma’s first-annual Northwest Thrift-Con, a new event created by All-Star Vintage founders Richard and Desi Sjouwke. Thrift-Con was a veritable smorgasbord of vintage clothing representing nearly every imaginable style and era of 20th-century fashion, spread out across 40 vendors inside, outside, and down the hallways of the historic Court House Square. Some 1200 ticketed guests turned out for the event, according to Richard Sjouwke." Come for shopping, a panel discussion, workshops, and more.
Sundy, Courthouse Square (Tacoma)

Xmas Booze Cruise Seattle III Past Event Like List
Let loose with Santa at "Seattle's only Xmas Booze Cruise," where live DJs will be spinning hip-hop, R&B, house, reggae, and other non-holiday genres.
Saturday, the Islander Cruise Ship (Downtown)

See also: 18 Friday the 13th Events in Seattle on December 13, 2019

SPORTS & RECREATION

12Ks of Christmas 5K and 12K Run Past Event Like List
Don a holiday getup and run like the wind of Santa's sleigh in a 5K or 12K race. 
Sunday, Marina Park (Kirkland)

Santa Runs Tacoma Past Event Like List
Lace up those running shoes for the 11th annual Santa Runs Tacoma. The tradition offers a festive atmosphere for runners of all sizes with Tiny Tim’s 1K, Frosty’s 5K, and The Scrooge 10K. There’s even a Donner & Blitzen 21K half marathon for those who think running a 10K in the cold just isn’t enough of a challenge.
Saturday, Fleet Feet (Tacoma)

See also: Last-Minute Plans: 142 Free, Cheap & Easy Things To Do in Seattle This Weekend